What a review tribunal decides
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A review tribunal reconsiders a decision already made by a government agency, offering a person affected by that decision a genuinely independent avenue to challenge it without the cost and formality of taking the matter directly to court. Tribunals typically handle a specific category of decision defined clearly by legislation.
Unlike a court, a tribunal usually aims for a more accessible, less formal process, often allowing a person to represent themselves without a lawyer and reaching a decision more quickly than a full court proceeding generally would. This accessibility is central to the tribunal's purpose as a genuinely practical avenue of review.
Tribunal decisions can usually be appealed further to a court on a point of law, though not simply because a person disagrees with the outcome reached. This layered structure balances accessible, everyday review against the need for a final, authoritative interpretation of the law where it genuinely matters most.